Tag Archives: Zechariah

It seems to me that the date or at least the general time period when the Old Covenant ended would be important to our understanding of eschatology. After all, God’s covenant with the Jews was his modus operandi for about 1400 years, as that pertained to his dealing with mankind. Everything God did in the world, prior to Jesus being born, was either through or as a result of his covenant relationship with the Jews. Even Jesus’ birth was in fulfillment to promises God made to the Jews under that covenant. So, how did the Old Covenant end? Did it end immediately as the new began? Were both in force simultaneously for a period of time? Did it end at all? Is it still in force today, and if so, are both the Old and the New Covenants valid together? Read the rest of this entry »

After finding the animals the disciples returned to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:35-38). They then placed their garments upon the animals and Jesus on the colt and marched toward the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem. While they went they placed their garments in the path of the colt upon which Jesus rode, while they shouted “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38). Read the rest of this entry »

Who is Zacchaeus? His name is a form of Zechariah, which means righteous one. We find him only in Luke’s Gospel account, and then only in Luke 19. We are able to understand that he at least heard about Jesus, if he hadn’t already met him. He is a short man, and, because he cannot see Jesus passing by, he ran ahead of the disciples in order to climb a tree and thereby get a glimpse of Jesus over the heads of the crowd, as Jesus and his disciples passed by. One has to wonder what this is all about. It seems from the text that the Lord looked for him, because he says he must stay at his home overnight, as though he had a prior appointment with him. Read the rest of this entry »

A company of angels appeared to the shepherds and they praised God saying: “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). I am not certain how many translators make the angels’ testimony more exclusive—for example: “peace among men with whom He is well pleased,” or “peace on earth among men who are pleasing to God,” or “peace to men of good will,” but the many translations I have (60 to 70) are about evenly divided. About 50% offer a blessing upon all men and about 50% make it more exclusive, implying that God couldn’t offer peace and good will to evil men. What’s the real story and can we know? Read the rest of this entry »

Zechariah, John’s father, continued in his song of praise to God in Luke 1:76-79. Here he spoke of what God would do through both John and the Messiah. He calls his son a prophet of the Most High God (Luke 1:76), and said John would go before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare the way of his coming by preaching knowledge of salvation—i.e. how one could be saved (Luke 1:76-77). It is important to note at this point that Zechariah claimed that this salvation would not necessarily be as was later thought by most Jews during Jesus’ ministry, namely, that the Messiah would deliver them from their Roman oppressor. Rather, Zechariah claimed the Messiah would save his people from their sins (Luke 1:77; cf. Matthew 1:21), and this would be the focus of John’s ministry in preparing his way (Luke 1:76)! Read the rest of this entry »

Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit as he uttered words of praise to God and described the missions of both his son, John, and that of Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 1:67-79). Basically, it can be divided into two parts. First, it is a description of what God had already done (Luke 1:68-75), and, secondly, it is a description of what God intended to do (Luke 1:76-79). Moreover, there are references to Hannah’s song of praise at Luke 1:68-69 and again at verses 71 and 74 (cf. 1Samuel 10:1, 10), inferring that, although Zechariah had been both deaf and dumb during Mary’s visit, there was a lot of discussion going on during her three month visit, through the use of his tablet. Zechariah knew of Mary’s Magnificat. The similarities in his song to that of Hannah’s might be the result of his discussion with Mary concerning Gabriel’s visits. Read the rest of this entry »

John the Baptist was one of the seven people God named before they were born.[1] He was six months older than Jesus, because Elizabeth was pregnant with him in her sixth month when Mary conceived. John would later be killed by Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, because John had been critical of him for marrying Herodias, his brother’s (Herod Philip) wife. Jesus said there was no greater prophet than John the Baptist, yet only Luke mentions the details surrounding his birth. Josephus tells us that about eight years after John’s death: Antipas was at war with King Aretas, his former father-in-law, whose daughter Herod had divorced in order to marry Herodias. Antipas lost that war taking heavy casualties and losing his authority and presence in key areas where his land bordered that of King Aretas. The Jewish people were convinced Herod’s defeat was punishment from God for killing John the Baptist. What can we know of John? Read the rest of this entry »